Last summer I had the pleasure of acting in my friends Chris and Emily White's film CINEMA PURGATORIO. I portrayed a possibly fictional European expatriate living in the southeast U.S. named Dos Midler. I had WAY too much fun, met and worked with an amazing group of people, got to play a role which now ranks among my favorites (and kiss Chris on the mouth MANY times in the process), and the film turned out to be a real gem, a beautiful, hilarious piece of art that speaks extremely well of the state of cinema in our state. I was rewarded for my efforts and time by not only getting to be a part of this wonderful film, but being treated as a VIP at the very first public screening CINEMA PURGATORIO in Columbia back in June.

Chris and Emily have been hauling the film all across the U.S. for screenings, and I've tried to make it to one or two of them, to no avail. When Chris told me that they had secured a screening at one of the nation's premiere independent cinemas, Clinton Street Theater in Portland, Oregon, and that it would open a double bill that would close with a 25th anniversary screening of Christopher Guest's THE BIG PICTURE, I jokingly mentioned to him that if he and Emily could find someone to pay for the flight and hotel, that I would bring Dos to the Portland screening.

Literally, the next day, I received an e-mail from Chris with this link:

...and the amazing news that, per my suggestion, he and Emily had created a page for me (and for other people in the cast and crew who had expressed interest in going to the Portland screening) at the CINEMA PURGATORIO web site to raise money for us to be flown out for the screening and put up for the night!

WHAT?!?!?

Amazing. I knew Chris and Emily were kind and generous, but this blew my mind ...

You can contribute anywhere from $5 to $500, with some pretty nice incentives in return for your contribution, and once $500 is raised, BAM! Dos is going to Portland (I myself have already put a little bread into the pot, so let's just say I'm already 1/10th of the way there!).

Also, in the odd event that more than $500 is contributed in my name, all the money over $500 goes toward sending another member of the CINEMA PURGATORIO team to the screening! Again, Chris and Emily White are the BEST!

Now, you're probably wondering why you should help send me to this screening. Well, let's start with the personal: I haven't been on a vacation beyond North or South Carolina since August of 2001, and this whirlwind of a trip would be such a lovely little working vacation, and it would also be so beautiful to spend time with my wonderful friends watching their wonderful film ... but that's not the important part.

The important part is that when you send me, you will be sending Dos Midler to the Portland screening of Cinema Purgatorio. Dos and I are very different people, yes, but we are alike in three key ways:

1. Dos and I are both cinematic masters.

2. Dos and I both own tickle bats (I'll tell you about that later).

3. Dos and I are both troublemakers.

You send Dos or me to this screening, and what was already classified as an "event" turns into a full fledged CAPER (and you'd better believe there will be documentation of this caper's unfolding right here in the Jasper blog, minute by minute, as it happens)!

So what do you think? Are you ready to make me Jasper's man (and I use that term very loosely) on the ground in Portland when the deal goes down and CINEMA PURGATORIO premieres there? If so, click the link: